Google Updates: What Exactly Is The Google My Business Feature?

Have you ever tried searching for coaching classes, car dealers, restaurants, or any other business in your local area on a search engine? Google has made it possible for us to look for the best businesses in our local area with Google My Business. The businesses that have their complete information listed such as their office address, phone numbers, associated website, work timing, reviews, and rates are considered trustable businesses. But what if the provided information appears to be wrong? In such a situation, the business will not seem credible. So, what exactly is Google My Business, and how does it affect the online presence of a business venture?

Google My Business is an ever-expanding local business directory which is helpful for users to find local businesses in their surrounding areas. These results are considered highly trustable by users. That is why every SEO agency will advise you to get your business listed on this directory. But there are still a number of businesses which haven’t claimed their spot on this directory yet.

At first, Google My Business seems like a plain and simple business directory where you need to claim and verify your business. You can verify your business by completing your company’s profile. But this local business directory can get complex based on the type of your business.

How Does Google My Business (GMB) Work?

The process of claiming your business online starts with creating an account. After which you will be required to feed in the details about your company. Once you are done with the online process, you’ll need to wait for a physical postcard to reach your office address. After you receive this postcard you’ll need to enter the authorization code that’s on the postcard under the “verify location” menu to verify your GMB listing. Alternative ways of verification can be done via phone, email, or by registering your website with Google Search Console. After the verification process, you will be able to receive regular insights on the number of clicks, impressions, and subscribers your business listing is getting.

Also, you need to know that GMB is not the only way through which you will rise in rankings. You’ll have to keep a close watch over your position with various SEO checker tools available in the market. You should always use a mix of a number of online and offline methods of SEO to keep your business on the best of SERPs.

How Can GMB Affect Your Online Presence?

From an SEO Point-of-View

All businesses try their hands with several SEO tools to keep their business at top of their game. Google My Business gives your business a unique opportunity to outshine in the local market. After claiming your online presence on Google, you can aim for the selected keywords based on your location. You can also opt for acquiring backlinks from several other local businesses of your area which will add to your credibility.

From Branding Point-of-View

Branding for business is something which helps you get more visitors and convert them to customers. It helps your business develop trust in the eyes of your consumers. Take any digital marketing agency for instance; the agency won’t get clients if they can’t reach out to their prospects with a strong online presence of their own. This is where Google My Business can help. A verified listing on GMB gives you an opportunity to win the trust of your clients. The ratings and reviews of your business are the first things prospective clients look at when they are searching for businesses in your niche. Positive reviews of your business will create social proof and eventually help you in branding of your business.

Factors That Helps Your Business Rank Higher In GMB

Ranking of your business in the local directory of GMB is based on these factors:

Relevancy

Google will definitely display your business on their search results if your business is accurately categorized and is relevant to the user’s query.

Proximity To The Customer

The proximity of the physical presence of your business to the location where the user is querying from is another important factor which can help you to show up in the search results. If you’re targeting local customers make sure to have your GMB listing accurate.

Local Ads on GMB

According to the latest Google updates, you can place Google AdWords ads for your business. This is a sure-shot way of boosting your business locally.

Results Driven Marketing can help your business with Branding, SEM, SEO, Social Media, Live Chat, Website Development, Blogging, Content Writing and more. Contact us today or call 215-393-8700 to find out what marketing plan is best for you.